I am infinitely pleased to express my appreciation
to Mr. Samvel Karapetian, who had undertaken this task with really
apostolic commitment and profound understanding of the power of
history, who had been dreaming of getting there, had gone there,
wondered there, measured and documented over a thousand of Armenian
monuments. Monasteries, churches, khachkars, inscriptions and residentials
were documented and published in numerous articles and several volumes,
and thus saved from oblivion and apostasy. After this rewarding
work Samvel Karapetian undertook a new, and actually exceptional
volume of the "Armenian Cultural Monuments" by which over 1600 Armenian
monuments will be ever saved from oblivion, destructive pace of
time, work of the elements or premeditated destruction and damage.
The land described by Samvel Karapetian is historical Armenia, part
of the historical provinces of Artsakh, Utik and Paytakaran, Syunik
and Vaspurakan, once Armenian land, Armenian world. And even if
the people are silent and try to renounce the history of this sacred
land, thousands of the stones of this book will cry out and say
that Armenians had been living there, Armenians had been creating
there, given breadth to the stones, given tongue to the stones...

On June 1977 I had an opportunity of visiting West Armenia - the
land of my ancestors. I was in Cilicia, in the land of Sasoon, I
was in Vaspurakan, and Ani. I had many reasons to pray, to cry,
to rebel, to complain and protest. But above all was suffering.
There were no graves. Turkey that invaded our land has not only
dismantled, ruined and broken our houses, villages and towns, our
temples and educational centres, but also, as if by premeditation
or deliberation totally swept our graves. Our ancestors have no
graves there, our fathers have no remembrance there, no inscriptions,
no history.

That is why it is a miracle to me that Samvel Karapetian has succeeded
in saving the remindings of our history, and as a result, the Armenians
all over the world can recognize the "brave and manly lords of the
Armenian history" (an inscription in Nakhichevan of 1387) of Vaykunik,
or the land of Tzar, Upper Khachen, Handaberd, Igadzor, Desert of
Tsraget, Aghahejk...

This volume knits the lace of glory to those who liberated Dadi
Vank on March 30, 1993, and those who shed their blood and perished
while liberating Kalbajar on April 3, 1993 and those who ensured
other victories of the Karabagh Liberation Movement thus returning
us - the Armenians of Armenia and Diaspora our dignity, honor and
pride.

I am grateful to RAA organization and its dedicated Chairman Dr.
Armen Haghnazarian and other contributors to the publication of
this volume of Mr. Samvel Karapetian - Haik and Naira Torossian,
Armen Mnatsakanian, Alec Poghossian and Vahagn Torchian. Alongside
with them, I would like you to join me in thanking RAA USA, whose
generous support enabled the publication of this beautiful volume.

I pray for the success of this book. God bless
you.
Mesrop Archbishop Ashjian

Toros Toramanian laid the foundation of researches in
classical Armenian architecture, which were interrupted by the World War
I.

Architectural culture, the destruction of which is continuing up to the
present and is not limited by the territory of Turkey only, has also fallen
the victim of the great Genocide...

Liberation of the areas recognized as Karvajar and adjoining territories
provided the RAA organization a unique opportunity of research, which
was conducted by Samvel Karapetian.

Samvel Karapetian was there promptly, since the spring, 1993, when the
hostilities were still going on, with the fire and smoke visible in the
distance. He was there to take photos and make measurements, and copy
the Armenian inscriptions of the churches. He went when the snow melted
and stayed until the late autumn and the first snow, sometimes with his
associates, but more often - alone, with sacred devotion and consistency,
under heavy, sometimes dangerous conditions, ranging, searching and finding
whatever he had been looking for - be it a monastery, hidden in the shade
of a canyon, or a watch-tower, guarding the vicinity from its nest on
top the rocks, chapels in the forest edges or arched bridges, churches
and springs amid the villages, with the Life-trees on their fronts, and
khachkars, numerous khachkars... Presently, pages of the book as if list
on their own, confining the glance. They speak, they complain, they protest,
they lament, sometimes even smile through their images. This book is a
walk in the heavenly garden of Armenian architecture. It introduces numerous
buildings, which were mainly unknown to us, high watersheds and innumerable
eternal flowing streams, forests on the mountain slopes, velvety pastures
and soft plough land. And alongside with all of this are the monuments
in their peaceful undisturbed glory, an alliance, a harmony of nature
and architecture.

Parallel to the assemblage of the architectural data Samvel Karapetian
investigated the history of the monuments ranging from the early Christian
period to the present day. Structures, which were first of all the function,
and then light. The light is a key to Armenian architecture, with its
simplicity and harmony, where one could see the Armenians' idea of the
beautiful and their talent to express it. There is will and wisdom in
these buildings.

Nomadic tribes residing in this region during the past two centuries used
the churches and monasteries either as quarries for ready building material,
or in the best case, as warehouses.

The people, that could spread some light on the history of the past centuries
are gone long ago, but there are live witnesses - over 1700 structures,
left by them and their ancestors.

This unprecedented investigation of Samvel Karapetian is like a return
back home of the Armenian monuments, cemented with mortar mixed on love
and suffering, and, which is most important, on the belief in the God's
truth.

The architectural research of the liberated areas comes to fill a large
scientific gap. At the same time to those who look, but do not want to
see hundreds of historical monuments come to prove their indisputable
Armenian provenance.

In the course of historical events once vast area of
Armenian habitation was constantly shrinking. Due to the World War
I and the events of the next few years this process went on unprecedented
scale. As a result the major part of Armenia was annexed to Turkey,
and minor provinces - still under the Turkish pressure were joined
to the newly established Republic of Azerbaijan, while the Republic
of Armenia inherited only the tenth part of its former historical
territories. Thus, in 1920 about 30,000 sq. m (exceeding the territory
of the present-day Republic of Armenia) were annexed to the Soviet
Azerbaijan. Later, certain areas, still inhabited by Armenians,
were included into the Autonomous Region of Nagorno (Mountainous)-Karabakh
(in 1923) and the Autonomous Republic of Nakhijevan (1924). As a
matter of fact, 2 of the 15 provinces of Metz Haik (Greater Armenia)
- namely the whole Artsakh and Utik, and separate parts of Syunik
and Vaspurakan occurred under the Azerbaijanian control. Within
a few decades the main Armenian population of these territories
was slowly and deliberately expelled (as, for example, in the Autonomous
Republic of Nakhijevan), and those who still remained were forcibly
displaced in 1988-89 (as the entire population of about 50 villages
and towns of North Artsakh). As a result, the former Armenian territories
annexed to Azerbaijan shrunk considerably, insulating and isolating
the Armenians mainly within the borders of the present Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic and Gardmank (North Artsakh). As a result of such territorial
losses, boundary delineation and later – administrative division
of Azerbaijan countless pieces of culture, sanctuaries and shrines
worshiped over the centuries and sacred for Armenians, were left
under the foreign rule. Nevertheless being still dissatisfied with
the results achieved in 1989-1990 Azerbaijan unbound a real war
against Karabakh. In this really dramatic situation, being cut off
Armenia, having nowhere to withdraw and no other means to protect
their life and the right to live in their homeland the Armenians
also took to arms. During the six following years of national liberation
war the Armenians liberated and retained their historical homeland.
Access to the former Armenian villages and towns, monasteries and
churches, fortresses and bridges, cemeteries and khachkars (cross
stones) was finally gained and the monuments unknown to the scientific
world because of the willful administrative restrictions and obstruction
imposed by the Azerbaijanian authorities, were open for research.
The historical landmarks of the present day Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
were more or less familiar by virtue of a number of publications,
while the vast majority of the Armenian cultural monuments situated
in the adjoining regions (currently under Armenian control) still
remained obscure. The present work is called to fill this obvious
gap. We should also mention that up to 1988-1989 the area of former
Armenian habitation included much more administrative districts
of Azerbaijan (particularly, Ghazakh, Shamkhor, Touz, Getabek, Dashkesan,
Khanlar, Goran districts in North Artsakh; and Norashen, Nakhijevan,
Shahbuz, Julfa and Ordubad districts in Autonomous Republic of Nakijevan)
than those eleven regions reflected in this research. Numerous monuments
of Armenian history and architecture still remain undocumented (particularly,
in Ghazakh, Shamkhor, Touz, Getabek, Dashkesan, Khanlar, Goran districts,
Northern Artsakh; or Norashen, Nakhijevan, Shahbooz, Julfa and Ordubad
districts, Autonomous Republic of Nakijevan). The RAA organization
has provided for the complete investigation of these cultural monuments
in its forthcoming issues. The present research is based on data
assembled by the scientific expeditions, comprising Hayk Assatrian
(1984-85), Volodya Haroutyunian (1987), Vahagn Karapetian (1993)
Hayk and Naira Torossians (1993-94), Armen Mnatsakanian (1994-95),
Alec Poghossian (1995) and Vahagn Tashchian (1996) whose role may
hardly be underestimated and I am extremely grateful for their kind
assistance in this research. Certain parts of this work were already
published in the periodicals. Scientific popular version of this
book was published in the daily “Republic of Armenia” (issues NN
183-191, 193-200, 218-227, 242, 244-251 for 1997, and NN 12-15,
30-34 for 1998). Special thanks to RAA USA, for their valuable assistance
in the publication of this volume.